Ford Falcon FG

[Hidden_Hunter]

Reviews of it are just starting to trickle in, as suspected the one to own is the turbo model (inline 6 turbo for those not familar with the falcon range) and the xr8 is a disapointment. Base model will reach 100km/h in 7.1 seconds (62mph)

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleID=51251

Drive.com.au have fairly decent coverage of the launch (as crap as drive is usually)

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleID=51267


Looks like ford have a good car on their hands.

[flyingfridge]

Drive and wheels have both published their first drive thoughts, reviews are positive. XR6 Turbo knocks off VE HSVs in a straight line, that's big and very awesome news. Bring on the F6!

[Hidden_Hunter]

Originally Posted by flyingfridge

Drive and wheels have both published their first drive thoughts, reviews are positive. XR6 Turbo knocks off VE HSVs in a straight line, that's big and very awesome news. Bring on the F6!

Then holden will up power a little more, then ford and the cycle continues

[argatoga]

Our testing showed the Falcon XR8 managed just 6.3 seconds to 100km/h.

I hope that is driver error, my car with the less impressive 4.6L 16 valve version of the engine can do it in less than 6.

The Turbo Six however looks snazy, a shame it won't be around for much longer. I am hoping Ford's new V8 coming out in the next year or so will prove a more than adequate replacement.

[scathing]

Originally Posted by argatoga

I hope that is driver error, my car with the less impressive 4.6L 16 valve version of the engine can do it in less than 6.

Your 'stang weighs around 500lbs less than this car. Does your Mustang have a live rear axle? They tend to be easier to get off the line cleanly than your typical IRS equipped car, which the Falcon will be.

Also, 100km/hr is about 62mph, not 60, and the difference can be worth about a tenth.

It also depends on how its tested. Some car mags will test the car with 1 person and almost an empty tank. Some test with 2 occupants and a full tank. I've heard some muck around taking out the spare tyre and lowering the rear tire pressures too.

[stevanford1]

It also mentions, when they tested it they had aircon on.

[Deanodriver]

Thing is, it seems like a decent evolution of the Falcon, and a good car, but the market tastes have definitely shifted away from large cars.

What I'm saying is, it seems to be an excellent car, but don't expect sales which were achieved even five years ago.

It's a shame they're canning the six, that old I6 is an excellent motor, despite it's age, it's better than the ~2004-vintage HFV6 in the Commodore (though the Holden V8 is a better V8 than the Ford one).

The G6E turbo is what I'd be interested in if I still wanted a Falcon. Plenty of kit, a strong, gutsy, quiet engine, and more quiet looks than the XR.

One BIG issue I have with the new Falcons is the fact that curtain airbags are a $300 option. Ford should increase the price by $300 and include them standard. Safety shouldn't be an optional extra. Particularly not in a family car like this.

[argatoga]

Originally Posted by scathing

Your 'stang weighs around 500lbs less than this car. Does your Mustang have a live rear axle? They tend to be easier to get off the line cleanly than your typical IRS equipped car, which the Falcon will be.

Also, 100km/hr is about 62mph, not 60, and the difference can be worth about a tenth.

It also depends on how its tested. Some car mags will test the car with 1 person and almost an empty tank. Some test with 2 occupants and a full tank. I've heard some muck around taking out the spare tyre and lowering the rear tire pressures too.

True, but the engine in the XR8 has around 130 more horsepower and about 70 more foot pounds of torque. That should be enough to make up the difference of 500lbs.

[Red_Bull]

Originally Posted by Deanodriver

Thing is, it seems like a decent evolution of the Falcon, and a good car, but the market tastes have definitely shifted away from large cars.

I dont think that's entirely the case yet. According to here the Holden Commodore was still Australia's top selling car with 57 307 sales through-out 2007. Also the FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar has claimed that there is still a viable market for large cars with annual growth of 2.3% per annum. Small car sales are increasing though.

Oh, and just to show just how much we're being ripped off here in Australia, Feann Torr has written this article which you'll find if you follow the link above. Makes you feel sick...

Sellers Market

At a time when the strong Australian dollar should be rewarding car buyers with lower prices on imported cars, very few overseas makes and models have dropped in price.

At the time of writing, a brand new Porsche 911 Carrera would cost about $200,000 in Australia. If you live in America, you'd pay about US$130,000, which equals about A$150,000 after the currency conversion.

So where does the extra $50,000 come into the equation? Why are Australian's paying more? The 30% price hike seems pretty steep and reflects the prices of many other imported cars in Australia.

Another good example is the BMW M5. It sells in Australia for $231,500, but retails for about $83,000 in the States. If you bought one in the states, it'd cost you less than $100,000 Australian.

The truth is that prices here haven't changed greatly from when the Aussie dollar was worth US 50c (it is now worth around US 87c). The Australian market may be relatively small, but profits for importers are large.

A similar trend occurred in Canada when prices were dramatically lower just across the border in the US, even when their currencies reached parity. It sparked a huge controversy and many car makers moved to lower their recommended retail prices as a result.

[Hidden_Hunter]

I was reading the wheels article and they said the base 4.0L I6 was getting average fuel consumption of 9.2l/100km which for a car that size seems pretty good (and that powerful)

Aparantly the new 5spd box they dropped in makes all the difference.

[Deanodriver]

Originally Posted by Red_Bull

I dont think that's entirely the case yet. According to here the Holden Commodore was still Australia's top selling car with 57 307 sales through-out 2007.

Maybe, but remember, the VT sold ~300,000 in three years. I remember not so long ago 7000-8000 sales being the norm.

[Hidden_Hunter]

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleID=51292


Ford looking at exporting to the middle east or china

[Red_Bull]

Originally Posted by Hidden_Hunter

I was reading the wheels article and they said the base 4.0L I6 was getting average fuel consumption of 9.2l/100km which for a car that size seems pretty good (and that powerful)

Highway or city driving? If its the latter, then thats remarkably good. Most likely a mixture if its an average though. I'm still not sold on the styling though.

[Hidden_Hunter]

Originally Posted by Red_Bull

Highway or city driving? If its the latter, then thats remarkably good. Most likely a mixture if its an average though. I'm still not sold on the styling though.

http://www.wheelsmag.com.au/News/LAU...ullarticle=yes

Though not as refined as the recalibrated ZF that’s in the other FGs, the five-speeder gets the job done with surprising smoothness in the type of country road driving we tried. In fact, the car feels as if it’s happy to lope along and cruise at country road pace all day.

And, at the end of a 50-odd km stretch of that sort of driving, the car’s onboard fuel consumption reading showed 9.3 L/100km. No complaints

Anybodies guess what the country road pace is

[chaos386]

Originally Posted by Red_Bull

Oh, and just to show just how much we're being ripped off here in Australia, Feann Torr has written this article which you'll find if you follow the link above. Makes you feel sick...

Even your domestic cars are cheaper outside. Sticker price for a new Lumina SS (Commodore SS) is 114k riyals, which is under AUD$33k. That wouldn't even buy you a base Commodore in Australia, if I'm not mistaken.

[scathing]

Maybe its these high margins that are why Holden was GM's most profitable division

[SL65]

Looks like Ford has struck a convincing argument for buyers to get back into the 'big Aussie saloon-car', although I doubt it will "revive" this segment of the market.

I completely agree with Deanodriver's point that side-airbags should be standard on what is a family car. Ford will probably make it standard by the time the Series II comes out, if not earlier I bet.

Any word on factory fitted LPG yet?

But overall, I'm massively impressed with this new Falcon, although I'd prefer wait to see it in the flesh and get up close and personal with it to confirm my thoughts that this car really is a winner.

Oh and the XR6-T and G6E-T look fan-bloody-tastic! I'm a bit undecided on the rear of the car but the front fascia looks great! Real Euro!

My only problem is that Sydney's cabbies will get even more power in their base XT's...the one thing they need LESS of! And after yet another life or death cab ride coming home from the city last night, I think they ought to be driving 2-cylinder diesels...

[Dsemaj]

LPG is a carryover from the BF MkII range, with the old 4 speed automatic.

I'm not terribly impressed with the FG. You can really tell it's not a complete clean sheet design. I like the interior, the materials are a big improvement from some BAs I've seen. Although, the colour screen seems like an after though where it is (That said, it'd be easier to glance at), and the steering wheel looks a bit crap.

That base model is bloody fast! For once I won't be so disappointed when a Falcon taxi shows up.

[SV]

Manged to get a seat in the XR6-T and G6E-T at the motor show and also managed to get into the FPV models. These cars are miles ahead of the BF models and i personally cannot wait to get a dealer test drive

These are also the kind of car that looks 10x better in person than in pictures.

[Disciple]

No LSD in G6ET, nor is it an option, which is a massive disappointment. Rules it out as a future car straight away. Turbo should win BFYB this year, and really leaves Holden and HSV scratching their heads.